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Photo Album: Coney Island May 2013 Construction Update

Posted in Amusement Game, amusement park, Real Estate, tagged Coney Island, Jones Walk, Lola Star, Luna Park, Nathan's Famous, Surf Avenue on May 20, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Post-Sandy Renovation of Booths on Jones Walk, Coney Island. Coney Island. May 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island’s rides and Boardwalk businesses opened for the season on Palm Sunday, but new construction and post-Sandy renovations are still underway. In April’s photo album we focused on Steeplechase Pier, Steeplechase Plaza and the Boardwalk, and the Applebee’s on the north side of Surf Avenue. This month we’re looking at the south side of Surf Avenue and Jones Walk.

Last spring, the City leased the east side of Jones Walk to Luna Park, which installed a kid friendly Laser Maze and an interactive video booth. The corner stand, which used to house a water race game, was transformed into a face-painting concession. All were destroyed by Sandy. Last week the renovated booths were painted bright colors and prepped for new games to be run by Luna Park. Sources told ATZ that three adjacent booths were leased to food concessionaires including Italian, Mexican and ice cream.

On the section of Jones Walk operated by Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, the new game seen below was being built by Jimmy Balloons and friends next to his new dart game in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

Construction of New Game on Jones Walk adjacent to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island. May 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

There couldn’t be a greater contrast with Thor Equities property on the west side of Jones Walk, which has been shuttered since 2009. Back then, a business owner who had leased a small stand on the Walk from Thor in 2008 told us the rent had tripled from $8,000 to $24,000. He declined the space and left Coney Island. Known as the Grashorn Building after Henry Grashorn’s Hardware store, which was in business in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the building is Coney Island’s oldest though you’d never guess from its ugly siding. A few booths on the west side of the Walk adjacent to the Bowery are in a building owned by Jeff Persily and are expected to be leased this season.

Nathan’s Original Location on Surf Avenue, Coney Island. May 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Meanwhile on Surf Avenue, construction is underway at Coney Island USA’s first-floor theater, Freak Bar, and gift shop, which will officially reopen on Memorial Day Weekend while funds to put on the June 22nd Mermaid Parade are being raised on Kickstarter. Next door at the former Denny’s Ice Cream, also owned by CIUSA, a 1940s Mangels shooting gallery is being restored with the expectation of opening sometime in July.

Workers continue the gut rehab at Nathan’s Famous original location at Surf and Stillwell Avenues which is set to open on Memorial Day Weekend. The interior as well as electrical and plumbing were ruined by the flood water and sewage that surged into the store during Superstorm Sandy. Nathan’s Boardwalk store has been open daily since March 23rd.

The original Lola Star Boutique on the Boardwalk is already open for business but her satellite shop in Stillwell Terminal was wrecked by Sandy. Renovations are underway at the tiny shop, which looks airy and festive in this photo. The store is being readied for a Memorial Day Weekend reopening.

Renovation at Lola Star Boutique in Stillwell Terminal. Boardwalk Shop Already Open Coney Island. May 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Rest in Peace: Steve Bitetzakis of Steve’s Grill House

Posted in In Memoriam, tagged Boardwalk, Coney Island, Gregory & Paul's, obit, obituary, restaurant, Steve Bitetzakis, Steve's Grill House on May 19, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Steve Bitetzakis in front of his restaurant on the Coney Island Boardwalk. November 6, 2010. Photo © Jim Kiernan via jamienyc/flickr

Coney Island lost one of its own last night. Steve Bitetzakis, 54, the owner of Steve’s Grill House located on the Coney Island Boardwalk from 1993 until 2011, passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Decorative flags, flowerpots, hand-painted signage and ample seating gave Steve’s Grill House a homey ambiance. Friends remembered him as a nice guy who knew all of his customers and would help out people who were hungry. “He’d say, you can pay me when you have the money, but I’m sure they never did,” said retired arcade operator Stanley Fox. “But he was that kind of guy.”

Door of the Grill House. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

Handpainted Sign on Door of the Grill House. August 1, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

The restaurateur was the last hold out of the “Coney Island 8″ evicted from the Boardwalk by Zamperla. In February 2012, he called off plans to have his modular building moved down Stillwell and instead took a buyout. Steve invested in a state-of-the-art concession trailer which opened for Easter of last year on Thor Equities’ Stillwell Avenue lot leased to the BK Festival.

Unfortunately, he lost his location to Cha Cha’s Club Atlantis and had to move to another lot leased by the festival where he was not able to open for business. The BK Festival’s plan for satellite locations on Surf Avenue called for opening the fencing during business hours but it turned out that city regulations did not permit it. Steve’s shuttered trailer remained parked on the Surf Avenue lot until a few weeks ago when all of the vehicles on the lot were towed away to a City pound.

Steve's New Grill House concession trailer at the BK Festival on Stillwell Avenue. April 8, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

It was sad to see Steve’s Grill House leave Coney Island since we knew he was ill and his restaurant was not likely to be coming back. There was no spot for him to lease in the new Coney Island, even though there are still empty lots.

Steve’s family has a long history of operating food concessions in Coney Island. His father Gregory Bitetzakis was the co-owner of Gregory & Paul’s, which opened more than 50 years ago. After Gregory retired in 2009, the restaurant changed its name to Paul’s Daughter. Steve first got sand in his shoes working for his father in the G & P’s on West 10th Street opposite the Cyclone. “He wanted to be in Coney Island more than anything,” said an old friend.

A wake will be held at the Dahill Funeral Home, 2525 65th Street, Brooklyn, on Tuesday, May 21st from 5 until 9 pm.

Steve’s Grill House, Coney Island Boardwalk. Last day of season, Oct 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Grimaldi’s Rings in Coney Island Comeback with Dreamland Bell

Posted in Artifacts, Food & Drink, history, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, Dreamland Bell, Gene Ritter, Grimaldi's, restaurant, Superstorm Sandy on May 13, 2013 | 3 Comments »

1885 Bell from Iron Pier at Dreamland Park on Display at Grimaldi’s Coney Island. Mary 12, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Grimaldi’s in Coney Island, which renovated and reopened on April 30 after being flooded by Superstorm Sandy, is now offering a slice of Coney Island history along with their pizza pies. The “Dreamland Bell” that survived the Dreamland Fire of 1911 was put on display yesterday at the pizza restaurant, where it is a powerful symbol of Coney’s comeback from Sandy. The Bell can be seen through the open storefront by pedestrians walking on the north side of Surf Avenue. It is expected to be on display at the popular pizza restaurant for two to three weeks, store owner Joe Silvestri told ATZ.

The 1885 bronze bell cast by James Gregory once welcomed steamship passengers arriving at the New Iron Pier to visit Coney Island’s Dreamland Park, which was on the site of the New York Aquarium. After a 20 year quest, Coney Island diver Gene Ritter found the Bell twenty-five feet underwater, about one hundred yards offshore. On September 3, 2009, nearly a century after the fire that destroyed Dreamland and the Pier, the bell was raised from the ocean floor and a day later was put on exhibit at the Coney Island History Project.

Vintage Ad: Iron Steamboat Co. The Only All Water Route to Coney Island. Photo by Tricia Vita via Coney Island History Project flickr

Vintage Ad: Iron Steamboat Co. “The Only All Water Route” to Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita via Coney Island History Project flickr

“The reason we’re doing it now at Grimaldi’s is because of the devastation of Sandy,” Ritter told ATZ. “We’re trying to help them out.” The fact that the restaurant is decorated with poster-size photos of Coney Island’s historic Dreamland Park and Luna Park “makes it a natural,” Ritter added. Later this week, Charles Denson of the Coney Island History Project will install a plaque with the history of the Dreamland Bell and archival photos.

When the Dreamland Bell made its debut at the History Project on Labor Day Weekend in 2009, joy and optimism about the future of Coney Island was reflected in the faces of many friends and acquaintances who made a special trip to see the Bell and ring it. The discovery of the Bell symbolized and presaged the rebirth of Coney Island because it marked the return of something that was thought to have been irrevocably destroyed. No one expected the return of an artifact lost nearly one hundred years ago in a fire, and certainly not such an important artifact as the Dreamland Bell. It’s fitting that the Bell has been brought back to ring in Coney Island’s comeback from the destruction of Sandy.

Grimaldi’s, 1215 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11224